'The Tall Man' review: Jessica Biel vs. the boogeyman

(IMAGE)Jessica Biel is at the heart of a terrifying mystery in 'The Tall Man.'

Many things change when you become a parent, but the biggest one may be your nightmares.

You still hold on to your old ones falling, being chased, showing up naked for your chem finals. But theres a new night terror, now: Something happening to your children.

And The Tall Man seizes on that bad dream, and gives it a twist.

Set in the Pacific Northwest, its the story of a poor town under siege. One by one, kids an entire generation are disappearing from their shabby homes.

No bodies are ever found. There are no clues, not even a bloodstain. And slowly, a legend grows that deep in the woods lives a nameless and motiveless abductor, the Tall Man.

Its all gone on for years and yet, nothing changes.

But then, nothing ever changes in this dirty, dysfunctional town. The parents post Missing fliers, and then go back to fighting, or drinking, or both. In fact, the only sane, sober citizen around seems to be Julia, a nurse running a tiny walk-in clinic.

And then someone steals Julias child.

The Tall Man is set in America, shot in the damp green Canada of The X Files (Cigarette-Smoking Man or rather, William B. Davis even puts in an appearance). But its director is Frances Pascal Laugier, part of the New French Extremity movement.

That trend which encompasses everything from the arthouse provocation Irreversible to the slasher splatterfest High Tension delights in showing audiences things they dont want to see, particularly graphic gore and violent sex.

The Tall Man is a bit more restrained than that, however, and more effective for it.

Its signature scenes get their power less from blood than from pure desp! eration. In one extended sequence, Biel tries frantically to retrieve her child from his kidnapper. In another, she resolutely tracks them both down to a half-hidden horror house.

Biel, an underrated actress, is perfect for the part, both emotionally and physically. Shes always had a kind of rough strength underneath those sculpted cheekbones, and when you see her chase a van down the highway, you know shes going to catch it.

Good, too, is the films script which like some other films from the Extreme school takes a few smart swerves. Plot developments that seem to be predictable become anything but. Villains turn out to be heroes and then turn out to be something in between.

Some of these twists may be too much for audiences wanting nothing more than a straight horror film. And the movies final explanation slightly improbable, vaguely and confusingly political may disappoint the most unsparingly logical of fans.

But if youre a parent who ever, for one cold-sweat second, lost sight of your child at a playground The Tall Man will tap into your darkest fears. And then make them even darker.

Ratings note: The film contains violence, strong language and alcohol abuse.

'The Tall Man' (R) Image (100 min.)
Directed by Pascal Laugier. With Jessica Biel. Now playing in New York.

Follow film critic Stephen Whitty on Twitter at @StephenWhitty